India–Germany Relations | 14 Jan 2026

Source: PIB 

Why in News?  

India and Germany have given fresh momentum to their strategic partnership during the German Chancellor's visit to India, marking 25 years of strategic partnership and 75 years of diplomatic relations.  

What are the Key Outcomes of the German Chancellor's visit to India?

• Defence Industrial Cooperation: A joint roadmap was agreed to promote defence co-development, co-production, and technology partnerships, with Germany committing to faster export clearances. 
  • Germany expressed its intent to participate in Indian naval and air exercises such as MILAN, the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, and Tarang Shakti. 
  • In addition, both sides established a Track 1.5 Foreign Policy and Security Dialogue, enabling structured yet informal interactions between government officials and non-governmental experts to enhance strategic understanding and policy coordination. 
• Visa-free Airport Transit: Indian passport holders will be allowed visa-free transit through German airports, easing travel and mobility. 
• Education and Skilling: A higher education roadmap was adopted, German universities were invited to open campuses in India, and a Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy skilling was announced. 
• Critical Minerals and Semiconductors: Both sides agreed to cooperate on critical minerals and semiconductor ecosystems to strengthen supply-chain resilience. 
• Digital and Emerging Technologies: The Indo-German Digital Dialogue work plan (2026–27) was finalised, covering AI, data governance, telecom, and Industry 4.0. 
• Indo-Pacific and Connectivity cooperation: A bilateral dialogue mechanism on the Indo-Pacific was launched to support a rules-based regional order. 
  • Reaffirmed commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and support for the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). 
• Global Governance Reforms: India and Germany reaffirmed their commitment to reforming global institutions, including the UN Security Council, through the G4 framework. 
• Counter-terrorism Cooperation: India and Germany condemned all forms of terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, reaffirmed cooperation against United Nations-designated terrorist groups under the 1267 regime, welcomed Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty ratification, and agreed to deepen intelligence sharing, legal cooperation, and action against terror financing and safe havens.

What are the Key Facets of India–Germany Relations? 

• Economic and Commercial Relations: Bilateral trade in goods and services between India and Germany crossed USD 50 billion in 2024, accounting for over 25% of India–EU trade. 
  • Germany emerged as India’s 8th largest trading partner in 2024–25, while India was Germany’s 23rd largest trading partner in 2024, reflecting deepening economic integration. 
  • The Make in India Mittelstand (MIIM) programme supports German SMEs and family-owned businesses to invest and manufacture in India. 
• Development Cooperation: Under the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership, Germany has committed €1 billion annually till 2030 to support climate action, renewable energy, sustainable urban development, water, forests, and agriculture.  
  • Both countries also cooperate through Triangular Development Cooperation to implement development projects in third countries aligned with the SDGs. 
• Defence: India–Germany defence cooperation is anchored in the 2006 Defence Cooperation Agreement and its 2019 implementation arrangement, supported by regular high-level defence dialogues.  
  • Military ties have deepened through naval port calls, PASSEX exercises.  Air force cooperation has expanded via Exercise Tarang Shakti, reflecting growing interoperability and strategic trust. 

What are the Challenges in India–Germany Relations? 

• Divergence on Russia and Strategic Autonomy: Germany expects closer alignment on the Russia–Ukraine conflict, while India continues to pursue strategic autonomy, including energy and defence ties with Russia, limiting full political convergence. 
• Asymmetry in Defence Cooperation: Defence ties are improving but remain constrained by India’s long-standing dependence on Russian equipment, higher costs and conditionalities of German defence exports, and slow finalisation of major deals (e.g. submarines). 
• Uneven Scale of Economic Engagement: Despite growth, bilateral trade is modest compared to Germany–China trade, creating a gap between Germany’s diversification ambitions and the current depth of India–Germany economic integration. 
  • Germany increasingly views China as a systemic economic rival, whereas India sees China as a direct security and territorial threat, leading to differences in threat perception that constrain deeper strategic alignment in the Indo-Pacific. 
• Slow Progress on India–EU Trade Framework: Prolonged negotiations on India–EU Free Trade Agreement create uncertainty for long-term investment and supply-chain planning, affecting bilateral momentum. 
• Migration and Integration Challenges: Although skilled migration and student mobility are rising, issues such as language barriers, recognition of qualifications, and social integration persist. 

What Steps can Enhance India-Germany Relations? 

• Accelerate Economic and Trade Integration: Push for early conclusion of the India–EU Free Trade Agreement, simplify regulatory processes, and strengthen supply-chain partnerships to reduce overdependence on China. 
• Enhance Climate and Green Transition: Leverage the GSDP for green hydrogen, renewable energy, sustainable mobility, and climate-resilient infrastructure. 
• Promote SME and Mittelstand engagement: Expand programmes like Make in India Mittelstand to attract German SMEs into Indian manufacturing and innovation ecosystems. 
  • This would reduce Europe’s China-dependence while embedding India deeper into EU-centric value chains, especially for ASEAN and Africa-facing exports. 
• Build a Shared Normative Alternative in Global Governance:  India and Germany should jointly champion a value-based yet non-coercive model of global governance that is democratic, inclusive, development-oriented, and respectful of sovereignty and diversity.  
  • Such an approach would offer a credible alternative to both authoritarian revisionism and Western unilateralism, while enhancing their standing as responsible and stabilising global stakeholders. 
  • Scale up India–Germany Triangular Development Cooperation in Africa and Latin America in sectors like renewable energy, healthcare, skilling, and digital public infrastructure. 
• Digital Public Infrastructure: Promote interoperability between India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (Aadhaar-like platforms, UPI, ONDC) and EU digital governance frameworks through the Indo-German Digital Dialogue.

Conclusion 

India–Germany ties are gaining strategic depth across defence, technology, climate action, and global governance. Despite differences over geopolitics and trade, the partnership shows strong momentum. Deeper economic integration and shared values can make both countries stabilising global partners.